The present disclosure generally relates to a cutlery and, more particularly, to an interchangeable cutlery block that accommodates various numbers and sizes of cutlery.
Cutlery utensils, such as knives, come in various forms and sizes and are used for numerous applications. Generally, a knife has a blade portion at one end and a handle portion at an opposite end. A tang, which is typically formed integrally with the blade portion, extends into the handle portion and is secured therein by various means.
When not in use, cutlery utensils can be stored or stowed in knife blocks, which can also be provided in various designs, forms, and sizes. Knife blocks generally include one or more slots of uniform or varying widths defined on a receiving end of the knife block. The slots are adapted to receive and seat the cutlery utensils such that at least a portion of each blade is extended into and otherwise disposed within the interior of the knife block. Some knife blocks are made of wood and the slots are defined by strategically removing slot-shaped portions of the wood with a table saw or other machine from the receiving end. Other types of knife blocks include a block shell that is filled with elongate plastic rods that allow for a universal slot for various sizes of knives.
Traditionally, manufacturing knife blocks of varying configurations and slot sizes can be challenging and costly. It is often necessary to design and use different overall structural knife block designs to accommodate a myriad of configurations. As such, it is often necessary to invest in tooling for the entirety of the knife block in order to meet the challenge of manufacturing the various configurations.
The present invention is provided to solve the problems discussed above and other problems, and to provide advantages and aspects not provided by knife blocks. A full discussion of the present invention is deferred to the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings